Pieces Of Us
by Storychan
Summary: Sagiko is just a normal girl living in Domino City. Until she starts having these nightmares about a mysterious woman named Kisara who turns into the Blue Eyes White Dragon and says...she's her sister? And that Sagiko can turn into a dragon as well? "Maybe I'm just losing my mind...what does she mean, I have to find the missing pieces of our souls?" Mizu/Blueshipping. Jounouchi/OC.
1. Chapter 1

_**Pieces Of Us: **_**A **_**Yu Gi Oh! **_**Fanfiction**

**By: Storychan**

**A/N: This is just an idea I came up with on a whim. I hope it hasn't been done too many times before! I've tried to avoid making Sagi-chan a Mary Sue, at least. I want to give a BIG thank you to my friend TheNuttyAuthor for beta reading this for me! Your edits were a huge help. ^_^**

**Anyway, readers, I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review!**

**-Storychan**

The dream is always the same. I've had it at least once a week for a month now.

_A whip strikes my back. "Kisara, run!" I plead as pain courses through my body. "I'll be ok, just run!"_

Who's Kisara? I wonder. Why is she so important to me?

"_No!" a girl with ice-blue eyes and __snow-white __hair cries._ Is she Kisara?_ "Sagira, I won't leave you! Leave her alone!" she pleads to a man with cruel eyes._

She's talking to me, but she keeps calling me Sagira. That's not my name. I'm Sagiko. Ryuya Sagiko. I'm just an ordinary girl.

"_Why should I?" The man smirks. "You two will fetch a pretty profit on the slave market.__"_Slave market? What is he talking about? "_Don't you dare try to run away, either, or my men will kill you." _

_Leering goons with scimitars surround us. _I realize that they're all dressed like Ancient Egyptians. Why am I dreaming of Egypt? I'm from Japan. _ "S-Sagira, we have to do something!" Kisara __cries. _

Dammit, my name is Sagiko.

"_Don't do it," I plead with her. "Kisara, no." _

What am I asking her not to do? I don't understand. All I know is that there is something she can do that can save us. Something secret. But for some reason, I don't want her to do it. I know that if she does...whatever it is, something terrible will happen.

_The lead slave trader raises his whip to strike Kisara. Instinctively, I jump in the path of the lash. My blood spatters the scorching sand. Kisara screams, and then everything fades to black. _

Why do I sacrifice myself for her every time? Who is she? What secret is she hiding, and why don't I want those men to know about it?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I wake up with a start, my blood-red eyes staring at the ceiling of the room I share with my cousin Manami. My long, jet-black hair is strewn against the pillow behind me. I fumble for the light switch beside my bed. Manami groans. "What's going on, Sagiko?" she grumbles, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "It's three o'clock in the morning."

"It's nothing." I shake my head, switching the lights back off again. "I had a nightmare."

"You've been having a lot of those this last month or so." Manami frowns, concerned. "Are you sure you're ok, Sagiko?"

"Yeah," I assure her. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"It's fine," she shrugs. "I only went to bed a little while ago. I was up Googling dueling tournaments I thought we could try entering." Dueling isn't something Manami or I really love. It's something we do to make money and pay the bills.

See, I'm an orphan. My parents died in a car wreck when I was in fifth grade, and I went to live with my aunt and uncle. Manami's parents. We lived in the same town, and were best friends as well...so child services thought it was best for me to live with them. Manami's mom, my Aunt Chouko, took me in like I was her own. But when we were in our freshmen year of high school, she got cancer and passed away.

Uncle Takumi's been grieving ever since. He's still able to do his job as a book editor, but he forgets a lot of stuff. Like bills.

Me and Manami? We're like sisters. Uncle Takumi decided that our hometown reminded him too much of Aunt Chouko this year. So the three of us moved to Domino City. Tomorrow, Manami and I are starting our sophomore year at Domino High. I really shouldn't be missing sleep dreaming about strange white-haired girls. Whoever Kisara is, she isn't my family. Manami is.

"Since you're awake," Manami says, "I guess I'll give you this now." She pulls something out from under her pillow. It's a pack of Duel Monsters cards!

"I bought it from Kame Game Shop yesterday," Manami smiles. "It's a new-schoolyear present!"

"Manami-chan, you shouldn't have," I frown. "We need to save money for rent. You know that your dad's going to forget again…"

"Sagiko-chan, come on," Manami replies. "We deserve something nice once in a while. Besides, who knows, if we get some powerful cards, maybe we'll win more tournaments and then we'll have even more rent money."

"Fair enough," I nod, and take the pack. It's the standard kind you can get for a few hundred yen. I open the foil uncertainly. A stack of cards falls out. They're mostly common ones I already have in my deck: Pot of Greed. Polymerization. Monster Reborn. But at the very back of the pile, something sparkles. I pick it up.

"No way!" Manami cries. "Sagiko, there's no way that card is what I think it is!"

My jaw is hanging open as I read the name on the card: _Blue Eyes White Dragon._

"There were only four Blue Eyes White Dragons ever made!" Manami cries. "Sagiko, what are the chances that you'd find one?"

The chances are a million to one. I squint more closely at the card to make sure it's real. It looks like it is.

"It's got to be fate!" Manami declares, grinning.

"Fate?" I blink. "That's stupid. I don't believe in fate and destiny."

"You got a better explanation?" Manami retorts. "Look at it, Sagiko! It's so beautiful!"

"Yeah...I guess." I'm never this lucky. I bring the card right up to my face, and that's when I hear a voice, clear as crystal, calling out to me. _Sagira_, it says. _Sagira, help me._

"My name's not Sagira!" I cry. But someone has called me that before. The girl from my nightmares. Kisara.

"Sagiko, who are you talking to?" Manami blinks.

"Nobody," I snap. I'm the only who hears this voice. I must be losing my mind. Or imagining things. Maybe I'm just sleep-deprived. I crawl back into bed, hoping that's all it is.

But then I hear the phantom voice again.

_Find the other pieces of my soul, _it whispers.

"What?" I mutter, softly, so Manami won't hear. "K…Kisara?" I call. But the card doesn't answer. Of course it doesn't. It's just a card. Cards can't talk. I'm obviously just hearing things because I'm not sleeping right. And Kisara is just a dream. This is ridiculous. I shake my head and try to fall back asleep.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%_"Kisara!" I hear myself calling. "Kisara, where did you go?" _

_I'm wandering through the streets of a city that looks thousands of years old. I stop and stare at myself in a puddle. My skin is tan and I'm wearing a tattered brown tunic. _In reality, I'm pale and I never wear brown. This can't be me. But it looks so much like me.I don't understand what's happening._ I look at my wrists and see there are marks on them, like I was in chains._

"_That's her, the slave girl!" someone calls. "She escaped!" _He's pointing to me. But that can't be right.

"_Catch her, she's my property! I just bought her!" the man calls, and suddenly I'm running for my life. I hide in an alleyway. I jump when I realize there's someone in this hiding space already. _

"_Kisara!" I recognize. "Thank goodness! You escaped too!" _Wait, escaped? What am I saying?

"_Actually, I didn't. There was a boy…h-he saved me," Kisara says breathlessly. "His name's Set, and he…" She pauses. _"_Why are you crying, Sagira?"she asks. _

I try to say I'm not crying and I'm not Sagira, but these memories I know aren't mine are taking over. I don't understand why, and I can't stop it. All I can do is feel the memories and watch. Like I always do.

"_That boy shouldn't have had to save you. I should've been there, Kisara, I'm sorry."_

"_It's ok," Kisara whispers, brushing her snow-white hair out of her face and looking at me lovingly. "I'm safe now, and so are you, Sagira, so don't be sad. We'll be ok."_

"_But what about him?" I wonder. "What do you think those men will do to him for helping us?" _

_Kisara's eyes widen. "Y-you don't think they'll…."_

"_We can't worry about that right now," I remind. "We need to get out of town before we get caught again."_

"_No," _

"_What?" Kisara has always been soft-spoken, shy. Not headstrong and __fiery__like me. She always defers to my decisions. She knows I can take care of us. She's never spoken to me like this before. _

Wait, where all these memories coming from? This isn't my life. This isn't real. Whose memories are these?

"_No," she repeats determinedly. "I….I won't leave him!" I catch the hint of a blush on her cheeks. _

"_Oh my Ra," I realize. "You _like _him__."_

_She stares down at the ground and doesn't reply._

"_You barely even know him!" I chide. "He helped you once, and now you're willing to pick him over me? Your sister? Kisara, I've been here for you our whole life!"_

Sister? No, I don't even _have_ a sister! My cousin Manami is _like _my sister, but...that's different. What kind of crazy dream is this?

"_They'll hurt him," Kisara says simply. "Sagira, are you really ok with that?"_

"_What I'm not ok with is something bad happening to you," I argue. "What if someone tries to hurt you?"_

"_I'll become the dragon," Kisara decides. "Sagira, our powers can help us." _

Become…a dragon? What is this girl talking about? And did she say _our_powers? As in, I can turn into a dragon too? She's crazy. I'm only human. We both are…right?

"_You could burn this whole city down if you're not careful!" I warn. _

"_That's a chance I have to take."_

"_Kisara, no!" _

_She runs away from me, runs straight back to the slave traders' camp. We hide behind a palm tree and eavesdrop on their conversation.  
"That little rat!" I hear the man who whipped me say. "I'll show him!" He brandishes a torch. _

"_Sagira," Kisara whispers frantically. "Sagira, what is he going to do with that?"_

"_I don't know," I whisper back. "Let's get out of here." Is she stupid, I wonder, running right back to the men who planned to sell us as dancing girls or worse? If they see us, they'll capture us again, and this time no sorcerer-boy will come save us. My heart pounding, I wonder if I may have to become the dragon after all, if it comes to that. _

Seriously? These aren't my thoughts. I can't turn into a dragon. This is nuts.

_But then the slaver takes off in the other direction, and Kisara is trailing after him secretly. I follow, knowing that if the man realizes we're tailing him, he'll kill us both. _

_But he doesn't notice us. Instead, he walks into a small house at the edge of the street. I hear screaming inside, and then the place goes up in flames. _

"_He's burning Set's home!" Kisara realizes. "He's destroying his home and killing his family for…..for helping me!" She starts crying. "This is my fault. I've brought Set so much pain. I…I destroy everything I touch!"_

"_That's not true," I tell her, trying to calm her down. We need to run, flee before the flames enveloping Set's household reach us, too, but I can't drag Kisara out of there, because suddenly her eyes are flashing electric blue. _

"_Kisara, don't!" I beg. _

"_I'll avenge him!" Kisara cries. "I'll make those men pay for what they did to Set, and for what they did to you, Sagira!" _

"_Kisara!" I shriek, but it's too late. My sister's body-_No, she's not my sister, who is she? -_ is enveloped in white light, and then her gentle blue eyes change to cold reptilian ones. Her soft skin becomes shining white scales and her hands, the one__s __that bandaged my wounds from the whip just a little while ago so tenderly, sharpen into claws. _

_This isn't Kisara anymore. This is the Blue Eyes White Dragon. _

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% "What the hell?" I cry as I wake up again. This time, Manami is snoring and doesn't wake up. Good. I'd hate to wake her. She's already been roused by my stupid insomniac ramblings once tonight.

I feel the card Manami gave to me earlier still pressed into my hand. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Did I seriously find this card? There are only four in the world...and good luck has never found me before in my life. Did I seriously just dream that some girl called Kisara called me her sister – Sagira - and then turned into this card? _That's...crazy_, I think. _But then…why does it feel so real?_

This isn't the first night this Kisara girl has showed up in my nightmares. But I always thought she was just a dream. She has to be….right? She told me I could become a dragon, too. _Which dragon? _I wonder. _Thousand Dragon? Harpy's Pet Dragon? What was I? _No, not me. Sagira. Then I shake my head. No, I was never a dragon, or a girl called Sagira. I'm Ryuya Sagiko. I'm me. I'm losing it.

I sink back in my bed, hoping to let the oblivion of sleep take me as I close my eyes and yawn. I don't want to have the nightmare continue. Yet I somehow know it will…

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Just as I thought...the second half of my nightmare. I should've known this would happen. Why can't I have normal dreams tonight?

_I can tell many years have passed. I'm wandering through the ancient city again, and once again, I'm calling out Kisara's name. "Kisara! It's me, Sagira!" _

No. No, I'm not Sagira, I'm Sagiko. Stop. What's wrong with me?

_I run to the rooftop of a building and then I see her, two stories below, and I'm screaming. She's on the ground, she's bleeding and they're throwing rocks at her. _

"_Monster!" someone cries. "She's a monster! She turns into an evil dragon__! __She's cursed! Kill __her!" _

_I start running down the stairs toward her. "Sagira!" I hear her crying. But by the time I reach the ground, the angry mob has dispersed and she's gone. In the distance, too far to chase, I see a tall man in blue robes riding away with her on a horse. _

"_Who is that?" I cry. "Where is he taking her?"_

"_That's Priest Set," someone says. "He's taking her to the palace."_

_Then __suddenly__I'm banging on some door. I think some more time has passed. It's not the same day anymore. _

"_Let me in, let me in!" I beg. "I need to see Kisara__! She's __my sister!"_

"_You're here to see __Kisara?" a woman with a glittering golden necklace frowns. "I'm so sorry."_

"_W-what?"_

_She leads me to a courtyard where, etched on a tablet, is the Blue Eyes White Dragon._

"_They sealed her _ka _here after she died saving Set," the woman explains. _

"_No." I cry. "No. Kisara! No!"_

_Then, I hear her voice. It's coming from the tablet. "Sagira. Sagira, my sister. I will serve him in this form now. I will choose to save Set again. I'm sorry."_

_I hear myself scream. And then the scene changes again. _

"_Zorc Necrophades is attacking!" someone is screaming. "He's going to kill us all!"_

_I see my body lying on the ground. My black hair strewn out all around me. My red eyes empty. I see my reflection in a vase I'd been carrying when I was struck down. The reflection of what I somehow know __is my _ba_, the part of my spirit that's already fading away. But then another part of rises from my battered body, and something in me identifies it as my _ka_**.**_ _It's a giant black creature with claws and wings and __fiery red __reptilian eyes. And I realize I've seen it before, but it can't be. I can't be…__t__he Red Eyes Black Dragon?! _

"_That dragon!" I heard a familiar voice cry, and the man in the blue robes comes into view. Set. I can see his face now clearly. His eyes are azure, and the hair peeking out of his headdress is brown. _ _"That dragon," he cries, "looks so much like…." Then, he sees my body. My face, that I suddenly realize looks so much like Kisara's. "No." he __says, sounding like he's in shock__. "A…twin? She had a twin?"_

WHAT? Me, Kisara's twin? There's no way...right? Of course there's no way! Kisara isn't real! None of this is real! I don't even know why I'd imagine myself as Red Eyes Black Dragon!

But Set continues. _"We must drive the dark forces back," he says. Another man appears, riding a noble steed. His hair is spiked with pink, black, and yellow. There's no way someone like that could exist in real life, right? "Pharoah!" Set calls. "My dearest friend! I think I may have found a way to save us all! We must seal the Red Eyes Black Dragon as the Blue Eyes White Dragon was sealed! We need the power of that_ka_!"_

_The last thing I feel is the sensation that I'm being separated from a piece of my soul. _

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% "Sagiko, wake up!" I hear Manami cry, and then I'm back in my room, where things make sense. "We overslept!" she cries. "We're going to be late for school!"

"Crap!" I cry, tearing off my nightgown and throwing on my pink and blue school uniform. _Tardiness to school, _I think. _Now THERE is something I should worry about. Not crazy dreams about crazy Ancient Egyptian people that don't exist. Yeah, right. Set. What kind of name is that? _

I'm not Sagira, I remind myself. I'm Sagiko. I don't have a dead sister named Kisara; I have a living one named Manami. And I'm certainly not Red Eyes Black Dragon. The world where Sagira and Kisara and Set exist is simply a recurring dream. It's time to return to reality. But as Manami and I dash out the door, I stuff my Blue Eyes White Dragon card into my pocket. I'm not even sure why. It just seems important.

We just barely make it to the train, and I try to just sit down and try to clear my head. But then the train takes a sharp turn and I fall over. My Blue Eyes is knocked out of my pocket onto the traincar floor. A man picks it up and hands it back to me as I stand. Then I gasp, because the face of the man in the long blue coat standing before is one I know all too well. One I'd hoped was only a nightmare.

"…Set?"

"You must have me mistaken for someone else, Ryuya-san," the man drawls arrogantly. He then smirks, looking like he expects me to recognize him from somewhere other than my nightmares. "My name is Kaiba Seto."

I stare at him in shock. H-how does this guy know my name? We've never even met before!


	2. Chapter 2

Pieces Of Us, Chapter 2

By: Storychan

**The Saga of Sagi continues! LOL Thank you to everyone who followed or reviewed this story, and thanks again to my awesome beta, TheNuttyAuthor! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please don't forget to review!**

**-Storychan**

"H-how do you know my name?" I stammer.

The man called Kaiba Seto – _Seto, that sounds so much like Set...what does this mean? _– rolls his eyes at me as if he cannot believe I'm this stupid. "You dropped your student ID, too," he snickers, handing it back to me. "It had your name on it, Ryuya-san."

"…Oh." I blush. I feel dumb. But I don't know why I expected this stranger to know my name in the first place. I've never seen him before in my life. Well, I have seen his face. In my dreams. And that makes no sense at all. Whoever Seto is, he isn't Set. If Set _were _real, he'd call me Sagira…right? But, no. Set lived in Ancient Egypt. He wouldn't be in modern-day Japan anyway. _No_….he wouldn't be anywhere at all, because he doesn't exist. _Then why_, I wondered, _does this Kaiba-san resemble him so much? _

"I'm more surprised that you _don't_know _my_name," Kaiba Seto continued, still staring down at me as if unimpressed. "I'm famous, after all."

"Famous?" I repeat. "Are you an actor, or a singer, or –"

"I'm a duelist," he interrupts. "You're a duelist too. Shouldn't you know who I am?"

"I-I'm new to the dueling scene," I confess.

"You're a newbie?" Kaiba asks, raising an eyebrow. "Then, how did you come by a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

"Fate," Manami perks up, the hint of a smile in her green eyes. I'd forgotten she was here.

"I don't believe in fate," Kaiba replies.

"Neither do I," I admit. "I got the Blue-Eyes in a random, ordinary pack of cards." _And then it started talking to me. But you don't need to know that. _

"Really?" Kaiba says suspiciously. "Well, if you're a newbie duelist, I'm not sure you deserve the fortune of holding a Blue-Eyes in your deck."

"Fortune or not," I reply coldly, "it's mine now." Kaiba is a bit taken aback by my boldness. I'm normally a pretty bold person, actually. When I'm not running into faces from my nightmares.

Then, Kaiba suddenly pulls out his wallet. "How much do you want for it?" he asks.

"Excuse me?" I frown, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not just a duelist," Kaiba explains. "I'm the CEO of the Kaiba Corporation. As such, I can offer you any sum of money for the Blue-Eyes in your hand."

_What_? This arrogant boy is _KaibaCorp's_ CEO? Even _I _know what that company is...I remember my mom used to work there before she died. It seems so unreal...almost like he's scamming me and Manami. I stare in shock for a bit, mouth dropping open as my eyes widen. He's gotta be kidding me! There's just _no way_ that a teenager would be in charge of a multinational corporation! Stuff like that only happens in anime!

"It's not for sale!" I growl. "I'm not giving you my best card! Leave me alone."

"Sagiko, wait," Manami whispers, and gestures me to come over to her.

"If he's telling the truth, this guy's a multi-millionaire," she whispers. "And we need money. Dad would never need to worry about the rent again if we sold your card. And it's not like we're pro duelists, anyway. We only duel because the family's been flat broke ever since we lost Mom. Think about it, Sagiko. We could save our family with the fat check he'd give us. And that's what we really want, isn't it?"

"Of course, Manami," I respond. "But…."

I remember the face of that girl, Kisara, in my dreams. I remember her voice, clear as a bell, coming out of the card, begging for my help. _Can I really…just abandon her? _

Then, I shake my head. _What am I thinking?! _Kisara is _not_my sister. She's dead. No – she was never alive. My _real_sister, Manami, is standing right here in front of me, begging for my help, too. I can save her and Uncle Takumi from losing our house or worse. This should be an easy decision. _So why does it feel so wrong? _

"I'm waiting, Ryuya-san," Kaiba smirks.

"Ok," I decide with a sigh. "You can have the card. But, in exchange, I want to make sure my family and I never want for anything, got it?"

"Of course," Kaiba agrees. "I understand perfectly the need to save a sibling."

_Sister, help me! _

I swear I hear Kisara's voice again as I place the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Kaiba's hands and he places a check in mine. I dismiss it as a delusion. My real sibling is looking at me with green eyes that shine with gratitude and joy.

I should be happy. I shouldn't be chasing nightmares and ghosts.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Ryuya-san," Kaiba smirks, and I clutch the check tightly in my pale hands, hoping that if I cling to it tightly enough, this sensation that I've made a terrible mistake will fade.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

To my surprise, Kaiba gets off the train at the same stop as Manami and I.

_Okay, this is weird...what's a rich CEO kid doing at _our stop_? Our old school had rich kids, but not like this. Not kids who trade me and Manami insane amounts of money for a single card for no apparent reason!_

"You're a Domino High student, too?" Manami asks. Kaiba nods.

"Then why aren't you in a uniform?" I interrogate.

"I am," Kaiba says, like he still thinks I'm slow. "Under my coat."

"What class are you in?" I wonder.

"What difference does it make to you?" Kaiba retorts. "I don't know you. So I don't have to provide any information to you about myself."

_You may have known me, _I want to say. _In another life. _But I don't want to believe that's true, because if it is, if I _was _Sagira once – then I've just sold my twin's soul to the man that got her killed.

So I say, "Whatever," and I take Manami by the hand, and we dash ahead to our classroom, leaving Kaiba in the dust. We're almost late.

The teacher smiles at us as we enter the room. "You're the new students?" she asks. Manami and I nod.

"Attention, class!" the teacher announces. A blonde guy who'd been asleep on his desk in the corner wakes up and falls out of his chair. I suppress a chuckle. "We have two new students today," the teacher says. "Girls, introduce yourselves."

I go first. "My name is Ryuya Sagiko. I'm seventeen years old. It's nice to meet you all!"

Manami goes after me. She's a bit nervous. "My name is Mahomura Manami. I'm sixteen years old. Let's have a nice year together!"

"Thank you, Ryuya-san, Mahomura-san. Why don't you go have a seat next to Katsuya-san?" the teacher suggests, gesturing to the blonde who fell earlier. As I walk towards the desk next to him and sit down, I notice he's kind of…cute.

"Nice to meet you, Ryuya-san!" the blonde introduces. "I'm Katsuya Jounouchi." He gestures to three friends sitting around him. "This is Hiroto Honda," a brunette guy waves, "Mazaki Anzu," a girl, also brunette, bows, "and Muto Yugi." I look at the last one and almost drop my schoolbag in shock. He has strange pink, yellow, and black hair that I know I've seen before somewhere. I try to place it, and then I remember: he was in my dream, too! Or, rather, a much taller, tanner man with similar hair was. I think Set called him the Pharaoh. I think he also called him his dearest friend. _This is crazy, _I think. _Running into two boys straight out of my nightmares in one morning. _

But then I tell myself this short, shrimpy kid looking at me with a half-friendly, half-concerned smile can't be the same person. He has a kid-brother vibe, completely different from the regal man I dreamed of.

"Nice to meet you," I manage.

Then, another student walks in, late, and sits down at a desk on the other side of the room. Manami pokes me. "It's that Kaiba guy from the train!" she says. I turn around and see that she's right. "No way…he's in our class, too?"

"Oh, do you know Kaiba-san?" Yugi asks.

"Uh, no," I shake my head. "I mean, I just met him today." _He's also been in my head for about a month now, but so have you! _"Don't you know him?"

"Not really," Yugi replies. "I wouldn't really call us friends."

"Oh," I blink. "Is that so?" _If they were really Set and the __Pharaoh__, they'd be close friends in this life, too, right? If they _were _the same people, then this is all wrong. _

I try to clear my head of these silly thoughts. Some imaginary past life doesn't matter. I need to stay in the here and now. I open my textbook and listen to the lecture the teacher gives. Before I know it, it's time for our lunch break.

Jounouchi approaches me immediately. "Hey, Ryuya-san, are you a duelist?"

I look at Manami. I wonder if now that Kaiba has made us rich, if we have any reason to duel anymore.

"Sort of," I decide to reply. "I mean, I know how to play."

"Well, do you want to play with us, then?" he offers.

"Do you want to, Manami-chan?" I ask. She nods at me. "Ok. As long as she can play, too," I answer.

"Are you and Mahomura-san related somehow?" Jounouchi asks me.

"We're cousins," Manami informs him. _More like sisters, _I think, but we don't need to explain the whole story behind that to him right now.

"We just moved here," I add. He and his friends don't need to know the reason for that, either.

Manami and I follow him over to the corner of the room, where he sits down next to Yugi and pulls out his deck.

"Is it ok if me and Jounouchi play the first round?" Yugi asks. "You can duel whoever wins, Ryuya-san."

"That's fine," I agree. I think it's really cool that they're trying to make friends with us. I was worried nobody was going to want to hang out with us here.

As Yugi and Jounouchi duel, I strike up a conversation with Honda and Anzu. "Are you two duelists, as well?"

"We both duel a little," Anzu confesses. "But neither of us are very good. Mostly, we just watch Yugi-kun and Jounouchi-kun."

"It'll be interesting, though," says Honda, "to have some new duelists to watch them play against. What kind of deck do you use, Ryuya-san?"

"Mostly fire-type monsters," I tell him. While watching the duel, I notice Jounouchi uses mostly warrior-type monsters, while Yugi, like Manami, seems to prefer Spellcasters. Yugi wins pretty easily.

"How did you get so good at dueling, Yugi?" Jounouchi sighs.

"Well, I'm mostly just lucky because I have easy access to good cards," Yugi explains. "My grandpa owns Kame Game Shop."

"Really? No way!" Manami cries. "I bought Sagiko a pack of cards from there the other day!"

The pack, I recall, was the one where I found the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Again, I feel a pang of regret about giving it away. I'm not sure why. We need the money. And I can't have seriously deluded myself into thinking my sister from a past life's soul was inside that card…right?

"Maybe after school, my grandpa will show us a super-rare card of his," Yugi suggests. My ears perk up. _Super-rare? It couldn't be…._

"Will you meet us there after school, Ryuya-san?" Yugi asks. "And you, too, Mahomura-san?"

"Sure," I grin. "Sounds fun."

"Yeah, ok," Manami approves.

The rest of the day seems to fly by after that, and before I know it I'm walking to the game shop with Manami, Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Yugi.

"Did you enjoy the pack of cards you got from my grandpa's store, Ryuya-san?" Yugi asks politely.

"Uh, yeah," I nod. I got a lot of money for that Blue-Eyes, so I shouldn't be complaining.

A bell rings as we enter the shop. "Grandpa!" Yugi calls. "I brought some new friends! Can we see your special card, please?"

"I don't see why not," smiles a short, elderly man in a black bandana. He pulls a card out of an ornate box. My jaw drops. It's another Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

And suddenly I'm hearing the voice again. _Sagira, help me! _

Why is that same voice – Kisara's voice – coming out of a different Blue-Eyes card?! And why, when there are only four Blue-Eyes in the whole world, have I run into two in less than twenty-four hours? Is it fate, like Manami said?

_You've found another piece of my soul, _the card whispers. _Collect the other two, and your own missing piece, and I will be free. _

"Free from what?" I mumble.

"Did you say something, Ryuya-san?" Yugi blinks.

"No," I deny. I listen for the voice again, but this time I hear nothing. Of course I hear nothing, because cards can't talk. I'm losing my mind. "I must be hearing things."

"You sure you're alright?" Jounouchi asks, putting a supportive hand on my shoulder. But then the bell on the shop door rings again, and who steps inside but Kaiba Seto!

"I need to speak to the old man," he barks, but then he sees me and stops. "Ryuya-san?" he blinks. "Not looking to replace what I bought from you this morning, are you?"

"Wha…no," I shake my head. Jounouchi and the others look at me strangely.

"You'd better not be," Kaiba smirks. "Because this Blue-Eyes shall be mine, as well." _He needs more than one Blue-Eyes card? _I realize. _Why? _

"My Blue-Eyes isn't for sale," Yugi's grandpa declares.

"I'll give you any amount of money for it," Kaiba offers. The same offer he made me earlier. But unlike me, Yugi's grandpa doesn't seem willing to take it. "This card is priceless to me," he explains stubbornly.

Kaiba whips out a briefcase and opens it. My eyes widen. It's filled with rare and valuable cards! "You can have all of these if you give me your Blue-Eyes," Kaiba negotiates.

Once again, Yugi's grandpa refuses. "This card is a symbol of friendship with the man who gave it to me. I'll never sell it or trade it to anyone."

"I see," Kaiba snaps coldly, and storms out.

"What the heck was that all about?" Jounouchi cries. "And Ryuya-san, how do you know him?"

"I….I met him on the train this morning," I say vaguely. "Manami!" I call out. "We should go home."

"But we just got here!" Manami protests. "I want to hang out with Yugi-kun some more."

I bow to Yugi and his friends respectfully. "I'm sorry," I tell them. "We'll see you at school tomorrow."

On the train ride home, Manami continues to pout, but I knew I had to get out of there. I mean, I found another Blue-Eyes, which was weird enough. But then it started talking to me, like mine had last night. I'd dismissed that as the result of sleep deprivation….but when the card spoke to me in Kisara's voice again at Kame Game Shop, I had been wide awake.

_What's happening to me? _I wonder. _Am I going full-on schizo? Auditory hallucinations are a sign of big-time mental illness. Maybe I should see a therapist. The same one I went to as a kid when Mom and Dad died. _

"Sagiko, are you ok?" Manami asks.

I fake a smile and nod. "Yeah. I'm fine." Truthfully, I don't think I'm okay at all. I just don't want Manami to worry about me. She'd freak if she knew I was hearing voices that weren't there.

"Sure...if you say so…" Manami bites her lip, and I know she's not convinced. I pat her hand and smile at her again.

"Don't worry. It's just those bad dreams getting to me…" I try to convince myself of that, but I'm not sure. If I start losing my mind...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

For once, I don't have the recurring dreams of Kisara that night. Instead, what startles me from my fitful sleep is the telephone ringing.

"Who's calling us at this hour?" Manami mutters sleepily. This is the second night in a row she's been roused in the middle of the night.

"Dunno," I shrug. "I didn't think anyone in Domino had our number yet." I get up and answer it, to stop the incessant ringing more than anything else.

"R-Ryuya-san?" stammers a scared voice on the other end of the line.

"Muto-san?" I recognize his voice immediately. He doesn't sound like he's okay. "How did you get this number?"

"The phone book. And just call me Yugi. Listen, I need your help!"

"My help? With what?"

I just met Yugi today. What is he calling me for help for? "Shouldn't you be calling Katsuya-san, or Mazaki-san, or…"

"I already did," Yugi explained. "But I figured you could help me, too, because you know Kaiba-san."

"Er, I wouldn't really say I know him," I clarified. "I met him today, just like I met you." _Although I've seen him in my dreams for almost a month now. _

"He kidnapped my grandpa," Yugi reveals.

"What?!" I shriek, almost dropping the phone. Manami looks at me questioningly.

"Why would he do something like that?" I ask frantically.

"It's because he wants Grandpa's Blue-Eyes so badly," Yugi guesses. "He was willing to kidnap him and force him into a duel to get it!"

"But…Kaiba-san already has a Blue-Eyes!" I blurt.

"He does? What do you mean, Ryuya-san?"

"If I'm going to call you Yugi, then just call me Sagiko," I advise. "And what I mean is….I had a Blue-Eyes, and I sold it to Kaiba-san on the train today."

"A-are you serious, Sagiko-san?" Yugi breathes, shocked. "You had one of the rare Blue-Eyes – one of only four in the world – and you gave it away?"

"Not gave away, sold," I correct. "For a good sum of money, Yugi-san. Anyway, I don't understand why Kaiba-san is doing this."

"Will you please come down to Kaiba Corporation headquarters?" Yugi begs. "That may be the only way that we can find out."

"Alright," I choose, and hang up the phone. I grab some clothes from my closet – a red shirt, black leather jacket, and camo-print skirt –fling my pajamas off, and change into them.

"What's going on, Sagiko?" Manami asks. "Where are you going? Should I get Dad?"

"No," I tell her. "Don't worry about it, Manami, I'll be back soon."

"But where…."

I don't hear the tail end of Manami's question, because I'm already out the door.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I meet Yugi outside of the Kaiba Corporation building. Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu are there with him.

"Yugi told me you had a Blue-Eyes and gave it to Kaiba-san!" Jounouchi immediately confronts me. "Why would you get rid of such a good card?"

"Does that really matter right now?" I scoff. "If you must know, I needed money for my sister."

"I thought Mahomura-san was your cousin," he says, confused.

"Well…she's like my sister, okay?" I defend. I feel like crying. I got dragged out of bed, and now I have to defend my life to these people I barely know?

Jounouchi's expression softens. "I understand," he whispers, squeezing my hand comfortingly. "I got a sister I gotta look out for too." I blush and jerk my hand away.

"Worry about that later!" I scold. "Right now, we gotta go save Yugi's grandpa!"

We burst into a room where Yugi's grandpa is lying on the floor, moaning in pain. Yugi runs to him.

"Grandpa..." he says sadly. "Are you alright?"

"Yugi..." Yugi's grandpa groans miserably. "I...I tried to teach him a lesson about the heart of the cards, but I failed…"

"It's ok, Grandpa," Yugi says.

"Jounouchi! We've got to get him to a hospital!" Jounouchi immediately steps in and calls an ambulance. Then, Kaiba steps out of the shadows with a triumphant smirk.

"Kaiba, what did you do to my grandpa?!" Yugi screams, raging.

"I dueled him. He lost," Kaiba says simply. "I guess it was too much for the old fogey's heart."

"You bastard!" Jonouchi cries.

Kaiba laughs. How can he show such mirth when an old man is in pain? This Kaiba Seto guy….he isn't a good person. Not like the Set from my dreams. I really do regret giving him my Blue-Eyes now. He doesn't deserve it!

"It doesn't matter," Kaiba says, "Because now I have the complete set!" He brandishes four cards. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon I sold him earlier, and the one he just stole from Yugi's grandpa. And…two others! Kaiba has all four of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards in the world! _And it's partially thanks to me, _I think guiltily.

And then I hear Kisara's voice one last time. This time, it sounds like there's four of her. It's like an echo chamber.

_Sagira._

_Sagira, my sister!_

_Sagira, help me!_

_SISTER, HELP ME! _

No...I'm hearing things that aren't there again! This can't be happening! Not now! I put my hands over my ears. "This isn't real…" I tell myself. "You're not real….I'm not Sagira…I'm not your sister…"

Then, through the fingers stuffed into my ears, I hear Kaiba saying, "I only need three. The fourth is just a liability, because it could be used against me."

This can't be Set….right? Set wouldn't talk like this. He loved Kisara, and would want to keep every part of her sacred. If Seto is the reincarnation of Set, it would make sense that he wants all of the Blue-Eyes. I wouldn't have to bring Kisara back. That would be his job. If that's true, then why is Kaiba Seto talking about the Blue-Eyes as if they were just cards? As if he didn't remember Kisara? Maybe he _doesn't _remember, and that was why?

_No_, I think. _This is all lunacy. There is no Set. There is no Kisara._

But then, Kaiba Seto rips the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the one that Yugi's grandpa had treasured, in two.

And all I can hear is the shrill sound of what can only be Kisara screaming.


	3. Chapter 3

Pieces of Us, Chapter 3

By: Storychan

**Author's Note: Hey, followers! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. My computer broke down, and the damage wound up being irreparable, so I had to buy a new one before I could work on this. T_T But, the new chapter is ready now, and I hope you enjoy it! It's over 4,000 words. It took a lot of work...including finding a reliable English to Coptic dictionary, and detailed episode summaries of canon episodes 1 and 2 (which this chapter takes place during). So, read on and don't forget to review! :)**

**-Storychan**

Kisara's scream is mixed with another, and it takes a minute before I realize it's my own. I'm filled with a sorrow and rage that I don't fully understand, and before I know it, I'm screaming at Kaiba in words I don't even understand." ϩⲟⲟⲩ! " I cry with a ferocity that isn't mine. "ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲣⲱⲙⲉ!"

Suddenly, Jounouchi is grabbing my shoulders. I realize he's pulling me back, because, without realizing it, I've taken a step towards Kaiba like I'm going to start a physical fight with him.

_Why did I do that? _I think. I'm an athletic girl with a short temper, but even I'm not that foolish. _Why was I screaming in the first place? What the hell did I just say to Kaiba?_

"Ryuya-san!" Jounouchi is saying to me, eyes filled with concern. I realize I sound like a lunatic. Maybe I _am _a lunatic. Speaking in tongues and hearing screams that aren't there...or are they?

"Ryuya-san, what's the matter?" Jounouchi asks, bringing me back to reality.

"You didn't hear that?" I shriek at him, wrenching out of his grasp.

"Hear what?" he says, confused.

"Ryuya-san, are you feeling alright?" Honda asks. Anzu and Yugi are still paying attention to Yugi's grandfather, who is looking even worse for wear now that his precious card is wrecked. I feel a pang of guilt. If I hadn't given Kaiba my Blue-Eyes, he wouldn't have had four. Yugi's grandpa's wouldn't have been extra. And, so, Kaiba wouldn't have destroyed it.

"I'm fine," I lie, realizing that if I admit to hearing a phantom scream that nobody else could, these new friends will brand me a freak. "I...I was just angry at Kaiba for messing up Yugi's grandpa's Blue-Eyes."

"Yeah, he's a total bastard!" Jounouchi agrees. I nod, and try to shake the certainty I feel that Kisara's scream was real, and that Kaiba just destroyed a piece of her soul forever. _Cards don't have souls, _I tell myself, and try to focus on Yugi's grandpa, the one with the _real _problem.

"You called an ambulance for him, right, Katsuya-san?" I ask.

"Yeah, it should be here soon," Jounouchi nods, before adding, "And you can just call me Jounouchi, if you want."

"Ok, call me Sagiko, then," I suggest.

"I get that you want to kick Kaiba's ass right now, Sagiko-san, believe me," Jounouchi says, and I feel slightly bad that my righteous indignation is more for my has-to-be imaginary twin than my real new friend's grandfather.

"Yugi!" calls Kaiba, ignoring me and the others completely. I wonder if he even heard the gibberish I shouted at him earlier. "If you want revenge for your grandfather, Yugi, then duel me!"

The old man is injured, and Kaiba wants to play games? He really is a terrible person. He can't _possibly _be the Set I feel like I know.

Yugi hesitates, worried for his grandfather's health. As he should be.

"It's alright, Yugi-kun," Jounouchi says. "We'll take your grandpa to the hospital. You beat Kaiba good for him, ok?"

Yugi nods, a determined look crossing his face.

"The ambulance is here!" announces Anzu, who had been watching at the window.

"Honda!" Jounouchi calls. "Help me drag Yugi's grandpa out to the paramedics!"

"I'll help, too," I offer, grabbing Yugi's grandpa's shoulder. He moans weakly.

"You sure, Sagiko-san?" Jounouchi asks. "He's pretty heavy."

"Yeah," I assure him. "I was on a lot of sports teams in middle school. I'm strong."

"Wait!" Anzu says, pulling out a marker. "Yugi, come here!"

"What's she doing?" I ask.

"I'm going to mark our hands with a special sign," Anzu declares. "So that the strength of our friendship can help him defeat Kaiba."

Jounouchi, Honda, and Yugi stick their hands out.

"Me, too?" I say uncertainly.

"Why not?" Anzu smiles.

"Well, I only met you guys today," I say hesitantly.

"That's true, Sagiko-san," admits Yugi. "But...when I called you in the middle of the night, you came. And now you're helping take my grandpa to the hospital. Not everybody would do that for a classmate that just met today. As far as I'm concerned, you're my friend, Sagiko!"

"You're a friend of all of us," Jounouchi agrees, and Anzu and Honda nod heartily. And so, I reach out my hand and let Anzu draw on it.

"I'm not sure I can win," Yugi confides.

"You're the best duelist I know," Jounouchi assures him. "I know you can do it. And know what? I'll stay here with you, just to be sure. Anzu, Honda, Sagiko? You guys take Yugi's grandpa and get out of here."

With that, we leave Yugi in the KaibaCorp lobby to duel Kaiba. I hope he wins. I hate Kaiba right now and wish I'd never made that deal with him. It feels like a deal with the devil.

By the combined force of Honda, and I, Yugi's grandpa is taken to the parking lot and lifted onto a stretcher the paramedics brought. One paramedic places an oxygen mask on him while another questions Anzu about his sudden collapse.

"Are you going on the ambulance with us, Sagiko-san?" Anzu asks.

"Uh, yeah," I decide. "Just let me call my uncle first and tell him where I am, ok? I'm sure Manami-chan's woken him up by now, and they're probably both freaking out."

"You live with your uncle?" Honda blinks. "Why?"

"Well, I..." I stammer.

"Honda!" Anzu chides. "This isn't the time, and you shouldn't be prying into Sagiko-san's family situation, anyway!"

"It's ok," I say, but I'm grateful. I don't want to talk about why I don't have a family of my own. I duck into a corner and dial Manami's number.

Her voice on the other end is frantic. "Sagiko!" she cries. "Where are you? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I swear.

"Well, how am I supposed to know that when you disappear in the middle of the night after some random phone call?"

"I'm sorry," I say remorsefully. "I shouldn't have just run off like that."

"Well, why did you?" Manami snaps. She's angry. I don't blame her. She must have been worried sick about me. We just moved into this city, and I'm already caught up in a bunch of craziness.

"Yugi was in trouble," I explain. "Listen, his grandpa collapsed and I need to go with him to the hospital."

"Oh my god," Manami whispers, her tone becoming sympathetic. "We just met him at his shop this afternoon...Is he going to be ok? What happened? Was it a heart attack?"

"It was...Kaiba," I grimace. "That douchecanoe we met on the train? He kidnapped Yugi's grandpa and stole his Blue-Eyes, and the stress about killed him!"

"KIDNAPPED?" Manami cries out in shock. "What the hell? If I had any idea he was so dangerous, I wouldn't have let you sell the Blue-Eyes fate brought you to him! Y-you don't think he would've kidnapped _you _if you'd refused to sell, do you?!"

"I don't know," I said honestly. Why had I trusted Kaiba in the first place? Because he looked like the nice guy from my nightmares? These nightmares, that other life - whatever it was - had caused me nothing but trouble. And now I kept hearing that voice from my nightmares, the voice of Kisara, even when I was awake. I'd heard it tonight when Kaiba ripped the card. I wanted desperately to tell Manami about that, but I was scared that if I told her I was hearing voices, Uncle Takumi would drag me to a shrink before I could say Special Summon.

Speaking of Uncle Takumi, apparently he grabbed the phone from Manami, because his tired voice came on the line next.

"Sagiko-chan?" he said wearily. "I don't know what's going on, but I think you should come home. It sounds like you're around dangerous people!"

"I'll be home soon," I promised. "I just need to make sure Yugi-san's grandpa gets to the hospital safely first."

"Ok," Uncle Takumi says, but he doesn't sound happy about it. "I'll pick you up from Domino Hospital after you get there, alright, Sagiko? Just...take care of yourself. You're the only niece I have."

"I know, Uncle," I said, a lump in my throat. He'd already lost Aunt Chouko. Of course he wanted to make sure everyone else in his life was safe. "I'll call you when I know Yugi's grandpa is secure."

Hanging up, I walked back out to the ambulance and got in. Anzu and Honda were already inside. Yugi's grandpa was muttering something.

"Sssh, don't try to talk," Anzu muttered to him soothingly. Then, I realized that what he was saying was my name: "Ry...yu...ya...-san?"

Why would he be calling to me? He knew all the others better!

"W-what is it, sir?" I asked, startled, and took his hand.

"H-how...how do you...kn-know Coptic?" Yugi's grandpa strained himself to say.

"Coptic?" I blinked. "What's that?"

"You...s-screamed at Kaiba-san...in Coptic," Yugi's grandpa explained. "Earlier...when h-he...ripped the card. I...I used to be...an archaeologist. Coptic...is the l-language of...the Ancient Egyptians...who I studied."

_Ancient Egyptians? _I dropped the old man's hand in shock. My nightmares had revolved around another life in Ancient Egypt...and now I had spoken in a language that hadn't been used since that era?

"Y-you...called Kaiba-san...ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲣⲱⲙⲉ...w-which means...evil man," Yugi's grandpa choked. "H-how...did you...know that?"

"I don't know," I admitted, aloud, before I could stop myself. Anzu and Honda stared at me in silent shock, while Yugi's grandpa drifted into unconsciousness.

_What the hell was happening to me?_

I didn't say another word to anyone for the rest of the ride. I was still shaking when we slid into the parking lot of Domino Hospital and watched Yugi's grandpa get wheeled into the operating room.

"How do you think Yugi's duel is going?" Honda said finally, breaking the silence.

"I tried calling him, but he didn't answer," Anzu frowned.

Then, my uncle walked in, beckoning to me. "Sagiko!" he called. "It's late. Let's go home."

"But I'm still worried about Yugi's grandpa..." I protested.

"There's nothing you can do for him right now anyway, Sagiko-san," said Honda. "Go ahead home and get some sleep. I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

"It's alright," I said, trying to smile. "That's what friends are for."

"We'll call you as soon we as we know anything," Anzu vowed.

"Thanks," I said, bowing, and followed Uncle Takumi out of the hospital. It was starting to rain as I climbed into the passenger's seat of his Honda Civic.

"I hope we can get home quickly in this weather," Uncle Takumi frowned. "You know Manami is worried about you."

"I know." I sighed. "But...wait. I know it's late, but can we make a pit stop first?"

"Where?" asked Uncle Takumi, bewildered. "Don't you want to go home and rest?"

"Yeah, but there's something I have to do first," I said. "Take me to KaibaCorp headquarters."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Sagiko-san?" cried Jounouchi, surprised to see me walking back in to the KaibaCorp lobby.

"Hey, Jounouchi-san," I said unsmilingly. "Where's Yugi?"

"Kaiba took him into this room with a huge duel arena," Jounouchi explained. "C'mon, I'll show you. He needs our support. He ain't doing so hot." He led me into the arena, and my eyes widened in surprise.

Kaiba had all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on his field!

And then, the echoing voice of Kisara hit me like a freight train.

_SISTER, IT HURTS! _

_SAGIRA! A PART OF MY SOUL HAS BEEN...AAAAAGH, WHAT HAPPENED TO IT? IT'S GONE!_

_SISTER...I...I CAN'T SPEAK MUCH LONGER TO YOU IN THIS FORM. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. FIND THE PAINTER. _

"W-what?" I cried. "I...I don't understand! What do you want from me?"

"Sagiko-san!" Jounouchi cried. "Who the heck are you talking to?"

But I couldn't reply to him, because I was straining to hear the voice of Kisara, who I was becoming more and more sure was real.

_THE PART OF MY SOUL I HAVE LOST IS NOT GONE. SOULS CANNOT DIE, SAGIRA. BUT WITHOUT THE CARD, THAT PIECE OF ME CANNOT RETURN TO THIS WORLD. FIND THE PAINTER AND FORCE HIM TO MAKE A NEW CARD TO HOLD MY SOUL. AND THEN, DEAR SISTER, WE SHALL BE REUNITED. _

"Wait!" I cried. "Who is The Painter?" But then I realized that Jounouchi, and now even Kaiba and Yugi, were staring at me.

And then, I fainted.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When I woke up, sun was streaming through my window, and at first, I thought the events of the previous night were a dream.

But then a booming voice with a thick accent I was sure I recognized called out, "Oh, awesome, Sagiko-chan, you're awake!"

"J-Jounouchi-san?!" I cried, sitting up in my bed. He was standing at the foot of it! He was in his school uniform and looking down at me with a smile on his face.

"Cute nightgown," he smirked. I blushed and pulled my covers around myself. "What the heck are you doing in my room?!" I shrieked.

"Well," he said, scratching his head, "When you didn't show up to school today, I got worried and came to visit you. Your cousin let me in."

_Manami... _I wanted to kill her for this! But then, another thought than my own embarrassment reached my brain: _school_. Did Jounouchi just say I _missed _it?

"What time is it?" I cried, freaking out and diving for my alarm clock.

"One o'clock," Jounouchi replied.

"In the afternoon?!" Had I seriously slept all day?

"Well, when you collapsed at KaibaCorp last night, I figure your uncle was worried about you and decided to let you take a day of rest today," Jounouchi guessed. "Still, I figured it was time for you to wake up. I was going to Yugi's house to play Duel Monsters and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

"Oh, uh, alright," I decided. "But, um, could you go into the other room so I can get dressed?"

"Oh...s-sure," Jounouchi said, flushing and leaving the room with a nervous slam of the door.

I quickly dressed in a red-and-black-striped shirt and grey skirt before venturing into my living room. "Hey, Sagiko-chan," Manami waved from the kitchen, looking from me to Jounouchi, then back to me with a smirk. I gave her my best glare. She stuck her tongue out at me. "I made you breakfast," she said. "Or, I guess at this hour, it's lunch."

"Lunch?" grinned Jounouchi, who had sat down on my couch. "I love lunch!"

"You can join me, then," I offered. "I mean, as long as Manami made enough food."

"I always make more than enough food!" Manami laughed, walking into the room with a tray. "I know you, Sagiko, you eat like a bear!"

"S-shut up, Manami!" I flushed. Did she have to tease me like that in front of my new friend?

"It's cool," Jounouchi said, surpressing a chuckle. "I eat like _two _bears." I smiled at him, suddenly feeling more at ease.

"What'd you make, Manami-chan?" I asked.

"Your favorite," Manami replied. "Curry."

"Curry?" Jounouchi repeated. "No way, that's my favorite, too!"

"Get out!" I grinned. Manami gave us each a dish of the curry and we all sat and ate together.

"You feeling ok, Sagiko-san?" Jounouchi said in between massive bites. "You kind of scared me last night."

"Dad was scared, too," Manami added. "He said you passed out?"

"Yeah, I guess I did," I told her. I didn't tell her about the part where I heard Kisara's voice telling me to find somebody called The Painter. I had no idea who she was talking about. I still didn't want to admit she was real.

"I'm feeling much better now," I told her and Jounouchi. It wasn't a total lie. "More importantly, is Yugi's grandpa alright?"

"Yeah," Jounouchi said. "Anzu called me and told me he's doing a lot better, too."

"That's great," I said, feeling relieved. If the poor old man had been made seriously sick because of Kaiba's twisted game - which had only begun after he'd acquired my Blue-Eyes - I never would have forgiven myself. Then, another question occurred to me. "Did Kaiba defeat Yugi in their duel?"

"No, Yugi won!"

"That's impossible! He had three Blue-Eyes on the field!" _One of which used to be mine. All of which spoke to me in Kisara's voice before I Smurfed out on you. _

"It's true, he did, but you're never going to believe this, Sagiko-san," Jounouchi grinned excitedly. I could tell he'd been waiting to tell me this since he got here. "Yugi summoned Exodia!"

"What?!" I cried, dropping my curry bowl in shock. "Impossible! Nobody's ever been able to successfully summon Exodia before!"

"Yeah! I know! Frickin' incredible, right?" Jounouchi whooped. "That's why I'm going to talk to Yugi's grandpa today, and ask him to teach me how to duel like Yugi does!"

"For real?" I smiled. "Think he'd teach me, too?"

"Won't know until you ask!" Jounouchi said cheerily. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Ok!" I said. "Manami! Tell Uncle Takumi I won't be back until later, ok?"

"Got it! You too have fun," Manami smiled at me. She'd kept looking at Jounouchi knowingly and winking at me all through lunch. I wondered what her deal was. "You can come if you want, Manami-chan," I told her.

"You sure?" she blinked.

"Yeah. We're just going to Yugi's."

"Ok," she said, and I couldn't figure out the weird look she was giving me. Shrugging, I took off with her and Jounouchi for Kame Game Shop.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Hey, Jounouchi!" Yugi called happily as Jounouchi, Manami, and I walked up the stairs of the game shop into the loft where he and his grandpa lived. "Oh, you brought Sagiko-san! And Mahomura-san! Cool!"

"Hi, Yugi-san," I greeted him. I saw he was sitting on the couch with the TV on. Anzu and Honda were there, too, and waved at Manami and I.

"Missed you at school today, Sagiko-san," said Anzu. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied again, hoping she wouldn't bring up my spontaneous ability to speak Coptic, which was mysterious even to me.

"My dad and I decided to keep her home for the day," Manami clarified. "I hear she had a rough night last night."

Honda, Anzu, and Yugi looked at me, unsure of how much detail to share.

"What's on TV?" Jounouchi asked, rescuing me by changing the subject.

"Regional championship," Yugi answered. "it's the finals. Insector Haga is about to duel Dinosaur Ryuzaki!"

"My money's on Ryuzaki," said Jounouchi, flopping down on the couch. The others made room for Manami and I to sit.

"Don't be so sure," said a creaky voice from the stairwell, and in walked Yugi's grandpa with a large box. "Haga-san is stronger than he looks."

"Mr. Mutou!" I called out. "Glad to see you up and about!"

"Ah, yes, I'm doing much better now," Yugi's grandpa replied. "Nice to see you again, Ryuya-chan. Thank you for accompanying me to the hospital last night."

"It was no trouble," I said, even though that wasn't entirely true. "Oh! Do you remember my cousin Manami from yesterday at the shop?"

Manami bowed. "Ah, yes! Nice to see you again, as well." We returned our attention to the TV, and found Yugi's grandpa to be correct. Haga had won.

Jounouchi asked the old man how he knew, and pleaded with him to teach him some more dueling tricks. I admitted I'd love to learn some myself.

"What's in the box?" Yugi asked, and I remembered that his grandpa had been carrying one when he walked in.

"I don't know," Yugi's grandpa replied. "Let's have a look."

"Whoa!" Yugi cried, reading the package. "The return address says Industrial Illusions!"

"The company that created Duel Monsters?" Jounouchi whispered in wonder.

"Yeah, but why would they be sending anything to me?" Yugi wondered aloud. "Hey, Sagiko-san, there's something addressed to you, too! But...how would they know you'd be here?"

"What?" I blinked. "They couldn't possibly. That's nuts. Lemme see that."

Yugi opened the box to reveal two gloves, four star-shaped pins, and a videotape. He shoved the latter into the VCR beneath his TV. A wicked-looking face appeared on the screen, with long, white hair that shrouded one eye.

"Aknadin?" I cried, a memory that wasn't mine rushing back to me.

_"Aknadin!" I cried, my voice shrieking loud in the silent shadows that surround us. "At last, I have found you! You imprisoned Kisara and forced her to fight! You tried to extract her _ka _by force! My sister died protecting Set from you!"_

_"Have you come to take revenge, Sagira?" Aknadin chuckled. "Foolish girl. Soon, Zorc Necrophades will devour you all! And to venture into the Shadow Realm where your twin trapped me to exact your vengeance, you are foolish indeed. How is it you even come to this realm without perishing?"_

_"Kisara was not the only one with a powerful _ka_!" I cried. "My dragon has shielded me with its black wings and guided me to you, so that I torment you for eternity as you tormented the sister I love."_

_"Eternity?" Aknadin scoffed. "You may have the _ka _of a monster, but you are not immortal. Zorc shall destroy you. He shall destroy all loyal to the Pharoah!" _

_"I am not the Pharoah's pawn," I sniff. "I come here on no agenda but my own. I swear I shall make certain you never harm anyone I love ever again! Even if you and I are reincarnated, I will make certain that in the next life, you shall fail at all your wicked endeavors!"_

It wasn't until I snapped out of the memory this time that I realized it was Sagira's. No! Kisara's voice had come to me in nightmares before I started hearing it while awake. Now memories of that life were coming to me in the waking world, too? I was losing my mind! I looked again at the man in the video. He wasn't this...Aknadin person. Aknadin was old and tanned, and this man was young and pale. I was being ridiculous, surely, thinking they had anything to do with each other. Aknadin probably wasn't even real.

"My name is Pegasus J. Crawford," introduced the man in the video. "I am the CEO of Industrial Illusions."

_Oh. _

_Whoa._

"I do hope you liked my present, Yugi-boy," Pegasus smirked. "And you, too, Sagi-girl."

I jumped as if electrocuted. "How the hell did he know I would be here?" I cried.

"Oh, I know everything about you, Sagi-girl. Probably more than you know about yourself. I've been watching you for some time now. You intrigue me. After all, your name - and the name of your sister - were inscribed in hieroglyphics right next to the ones that inspired me to create Duel Monsters."

"What?" I cried, shocked. Then, I became even more shocked when I realized that because this was a videotape, Pegasus must have known what I was going to say before he even pressed "record". _Impossible._

"Anyway, Sagi-girl, why don't you just sit down like a good little girl? I'd like to turn my attention to Yugi-boy here. I heard he defeated young Kaiba-boy in a duel and thought I would challenge him myself."

"You expect me to duel against a video recording?" Yugi asked, confused.

"Yes," the videotape of Pegasus smirked. _How did he know what Yugi was going to say? _

As the duel started, Yugi's whole vibe changed. Suddenly, the look in his eyes was older. Wiser. More confident, too. His posture changed, making him seem taller, and his lips curled into an uncharacteristic smirk. When he spoke, his voice also took on a majestic tone that I had never heard before. Or maybe I had. In my dreams.

"Pharoah?" I guessed.

Yugi's head jerked around to look at me. The look in his eyes was sad. "Did I...know you?" he asked in that deep, mysterious voice. "A long time ago?"

"You're...not Yugi, are you?" I realized. _No. No way. This can't be happening. _

"I am a two thousand-year-old spirit," the voice emanating from Yugi's body confessed. "Sadly, I cannot remember my past, or you. I do not even remember my name. But, you may call me Yami."

"Jounouchi, did you hear what he just said?" I said, begging to go back to a reality where things made sense. But Jounouchi wasn't moving. Neither were Anzu, Honda, Mr. Mutou, or Manami. I waved my hands in front of their faces. Nothing. They were frozen!

"What the hell is this?" I cried.

"Welcome to the Shadow Realm," Pegasus smirked. _The Shadow Realm?! That was what Aknadin had called the place where Sagira confronted him, in my memory! _ I wasn't sure if I could convince myself anymore that these memories were just nightmares and hallucinations. The coldness of the shadows encroaching all around us felt alarmingly real.

"Enough of this," Pegasus said. "Let the duel begin, Yugi-boy. After all, we're on a time limit." I looked down at a small clock on the VCR and saw that this was true. Yami Yugi began dueling Pegasus as I watched, mystified, questioning everything I knew about reality.

Had I really been a shapeshifter called Sagira in a past life, who knew a pharoah?

Had I really had a sister called Kisara, who died to save Kaiba's doppelganger, Set?

Had I really been murdered by a monster called Zorc Necrophades?

It was really starting to look like all of my nightmares were real. I didn't want to believe it. But, I wasn't sure I had a choice.

"Sagiko-san!" Yami Yugi called to me, and I saw that he wasn't faring well in his duel. "It feels like this Pegasus is reading my mind!"

"Right you are, Yugi-boy," Pegasus smirked, and lifted up a lank strand of bone-white hair to reveal a shining golden eye. The very same eye that Aknadin had possessed in my vision. My memory. "This is the Millenium Eye, which allows me to read your thoughts," Pegasus explained. "A Millenium Item much like your Millenium Puzzle, Yugi-boy." For the first time, I noticed a shimmering golden pyramid hanging from Yugi's neck. I felt certain that the pharoah in my nightmares had worn one just like it.

It was him who spoke to Peagsus, saying, "Millenium Item or no, I shall still defeat you, Pegasus!" He summoned Summoned Skull, and it looked indeed like he was going to win. But then the timer buzzed, indicating that Yugi's time was up, and Pegasus had won by default.

"Too bad, Yugi-boy," Pegasus smirked. "But I do still hope you'll join me on my island for the Duelist Kingdom tournament, no?"

"Why would I do anything you say?" Yugi snapped.

"I thought you might say that," Pegasus sighed. "So, I shall provide some..._motivation _for you to visit me."

Suddenly, Yugi's grandpa slumped over as if dead! I turned back to the TV, and Yugi's grandpa was now inside it somehow, screaming for help!

"What have you done, Pegasus?!" Yugi cried.

"I have taken your grandfather's soul," Pegasus cackled, "and you must duel me to get it back."

_How was this even possible? _I thought. _My life has gone insane! Maybe this is all just another nightmare. _But then I pinched myself, and the pain forced me to conclude this was no dream.

"You're a monster!" Yugi cried.

"Actually," Pegasus giggled. "The one with a monster hidden in her soul is Sagi-girl. Or, I hear that in this life, that piece of her is missing...Pity." The image of him on the recording turned and looked me straight in the eye. I shivered. "I should like to duel you, as well, Sagi-girl. What do you say?"

"Never!" I cried.

"Oh, really?" Pegasus said, raisng an alabaster brow. "Well, I hear that sisters have always been an excellent motivator for you, eh, Sagi-girl?"

"What are you talking about?" I cried.

And then I watched, helplessly, as Manami's body slumped over, and her soul disappeared into the TV as well.

"NO! MANAMI!"

"I'll see you in Duelist Kingdom, Sagi-girl," Pegasus crooned, and then the videotape clicked off, taking Manami's screaming face with it.

I sunk to my knees, screaming. I had lost two lifetimes worth of sisters in a day.

I had to get them both back!


End file.
